How the internet will fall, step one: Remove anonymity

Should I have the right to spread “disinformation” on the internet? Some would say I do not. Thankfully, I have no intention of ever knowingly doing such a thing, but knowing that I can is part of what makes the internet what it is. More importantly, the anonymity the internet provides is one of the cornerstones for its usefulness in modern society.

If a leaked memo last week is any indicator of what’s to come, then my anonymity may no longer be sacred online.

Bot labeling: Warner’s paper suggests forcing companies to somehow label bots or be penalized (no word from Warner on how this is remotely feasible)

Define popular tech as “essential facilities.” These would be subject to all sorts of heightened rules and controls, says the paper, offering Google Maps as an example of the kinds of apps or platforms that might count. “The law would not mandate that a dominant provider offer the serve for free,” writes Warner. “Rather, it would be required to offer it on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” provided by the government.

Considering how bad the likely interference by Russian operatives through social media really was, it’s easy to see why many would embrace these measures. Nobody wants foreign entities swaying our elections, but what cost are we willing to pay to be protected?

This is a clear example of DC once again attempting to overstep its own powers. We do not need them telling private internet companies what to do and how to handle their members. If Facebook wants to implement these types of measures, so be it. As long as they’re doing so willingly, it’s fine. However, the government does not need to step in. They do not need to “protect” us from our own stupidity.

If I fall for a hoax article claiming President Trump urinated on Russian prostitutes, that’s on me.

Anonymity sucks, but it’s important

To be fair, I have been victim to anonymous trolls on the internet. It bugs me that they can say what they want about or towards me while hiding behind the moniker braveliberal1949, but I would never condone taking his/her right to troll me. They have their reasons for being anonymous and I will fight for their right to remain hidden behind their online persona.

Some would point to Russian interference as a reason to support attacks on our online privacy. It sucks that they can have teams of meat puppets out there trying to mislead as many people as possible. But that’s part of the game. It’s a tactic in the online war we all fight wittingly or not, one that requires diligence but NOT government interference. If they want to help expose foreign actors, that’s on them. They should not use Russia or anyone else as a reason to take away our digital rights just as they shouldn’t have used 9/11 as a reason to take away our other freedoms.

It’s a pretty crazy world online. There’s plenty of bad ideas, false concepts, fake news, and actors intent on hurting us. We have to deal with them. The government cannot provide us with a solution that won’t do more harm than good.

How the FISA Report will further dampen the Mueller Report

The hopes and dreams of Democrats around the country were systematically shattered over the last few months as the Mueller investigation into Russian hacking of the 2016 election yielded very little fruit. That hasn’t stopped the House Democrats from fishing for more information than the two-year investigation produced in hopes of hanging President Trump with an impeachment.

But the initial draft of the Department of Justice’s inspector general Michael Horowitz’s report has been given to the Attorney General for classification and markup, meaning the public will soon have access to the sordid details surrounding the Steele Dossier and other measures used to secure FISA warrants against the Trump campaign.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Attorney General Andrew McCabe has been recommended for charges after allegedly lying about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation around the same time period. And there’s still the U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into illegal spying on the Trump campaign. All of this combines for a very rocky road ahead for Democrats and former DoJ personnel who may be held accountable for a fruitless investigation trumped up by false claims and shoddy sourcing.

It seems very likely the various “investigations of the investigators” will cause controversy at the very least while possibly leading to charges against multiple people. The seemingly coordinated effort to subvert the Trump campaign and to counter his victory in the then-unlikely scenario in which he wins jibes with the incessant pushing of the collusion narrative by Democrats and mainstream media. It wasn’t that they had anything of substance. They hopes what they had would have substance that would manifest in the Mueller report.

But now the Mueller investigation itself is in jeopardy of losing any remnants of credibility it still has as the premise behind it is being challenged by Attorney General William Barr and the various investigations he has commissioned. Horowitz’s report is the biggest so far, but may only be the tip of the iceberg compared to what Durham may find.

With all of the arrows pointing to foul play by Obama’s DoJ and the Mueller investigation, these reports are likely to unravel all hopes the Democrats have of stopping President Trump before the 2020 election. After he wins, their dreams will be quashed.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

Child rapist, pornographer captured by ICE, sentenced to 60 years in prison

When anti-ICE activists protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they aren’t just calling for changes. They’re calling to have the law enforcement agency abolished. Somewhere in their warped perspectives they’ve determined that good is evil and evil is good.

And when they protest ICE, they’re supporting criminals like Jon Anthony Terry, a man who has raped multiple prepubescent children as young as two-years-old and distributed videos and images of his hideous acts to the sick masses who crave this sort of thing. If it weren’t for ICE, Terry would still be on the streets permanently harming children. This is the type of person the anti-ICE protesters support unabashedly.

The search warrant described several child pornography files that Terry distributed, and law enforcement intercepted. The videos and images depicted children as young as toddlers engaged in sexually explicit conduct. After agreeing to speak to agents, Terry admitted to sexually abusing one of the children who was currently residing with him. HSI special agents seized several media devices containing incriminating media.

Upon reviewing Terry’s media collection, HSI special agents discovered more than 1,000 videos and images of prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts. Additionally, they uncovered videos and images that Terry himself had produced of four children, including the one Terry had previously admitted to molesting. The children ranged in age from 2 to 10 years old.

If people want to protest a particular practice, they should call on their representatives to address the issue. But calls to abolish an entire law enforcement agency is ignorant at best, intentionally criminal at worst. Those who want ICE abolished either know very little about what ICE actually does or are willing to allow heinous crimes like Terry’s to continue. Without ICE, Terry would still be raping children and sharing videos of his acts with his cronies.

America needs law and order to prevail. That requires law enforcement agencies to stay within legal bounds but to otherwise not have their activities hampered by those who would defend criminals over law abiding citizens.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

Private prisons operate better than state-run institutions, but California is banning them anyway

“Profit” is a dirty word to most progressives. By their reckoning, if something makes a profit it must be greedy, and if it’s greedy it must be bad. Therefore, profits must be bad. This logic flies in the face of the facts, and few examples of this make the point better than prisons.

Private prisons allow states and federal agencies to house inmates more affordably than at state-run institutions. They are usually considered to be better operated with lower recidivism rates and better conditions for inmates. They also act as a buffer to prevent prison overpopulation. But there’s a stigma attached to them that makes no sense. Opponents say the profit-incentive means they want prisoners to stay longer or for them to return after release. These are silly arguments as these prisons have very little control over who resides in their facilities, and as noted before, the recidivism rate is generally lower.

But if profit is being made, progressives assume there must be something nefarious behind the operations. Such is the case in California, whose state legislature just passed AB32 with a signature expected from Governor Newsom soon enough.

The private prison industry is set to be upended after California lawmakers passed a bill on Wednesday banning the facilities from operating in the state. The move will probably also close down four large immigration detention facilities that can hold up to 4,500 people at a time.

The legislation is being hailed as a major victory for criminal justice reform because it removes the profit motive from incarceration. It also marks a dramatic departure from California’s past, when private prisons were relied on to reduce crowding in state-run facilities.

A major policy point for Democrats recently has been criminal justice reform. Their goal is to reduce the time spent by criminals in jail, a goal that defies its own logic. Lighter sentencing has never been shown to reduce crime. If anything, it makes it more enticing for criminals to commit more crimes while putting them back on the streets sooner. One of the arguments for criminal justice reform is our prisons being overcrowded. This bill seems to contradict that notion as it will only exacerbate the problem.

“When California’s prison system capacity was at 200% and conditions were so challenging as to be deemed unconstitutional, companies like ours were one of the solutions the state turned to,” said Brandon Bissel, a CoreCivic spokesperson.

It isn’t just criminals who are going to be affected. Illegal immigrants are currently being detained in private facilities in California, and the bill was amended to include them for banning. ICE currently contracts with two facilities in the state that house illegal aliens set for deportation. The facilities that will be affected by the bill are in even more dire straits than other private prisons because their contracts end next year. This will cause tremendous problems for ICE as they must relocate or expedite the deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants.

No, that’s not a good thing. Currently the budgets are designed to remove illegal immigrants in ways that make fiscal sense. By forcing them to act more quickly, it will increase costs dramatically.

As usual, Democrats in California are passing legislation from the heart without taking into account logic, analysis, or common sense. This decision will come back to bite the state as prison overpopulation and premature release become rampant.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.